The Most Embarrassing Things
by hippielicious
Summary: Charlie Jacobs and Leonard McCoy get a lot more than they bargained for while attending a boxing tournament at the academy, violating academy rules. McCoy X OC
1. Chapter 1

Charlie sighed with relief as she and Nyota filed out of the building. "Thank you again for letting me borrow your book. I don't know how I am going to pass the exam without it."

"No problem. It's in my room, if you don't mind the walk."

"Not at all," she replied. Suddenly, a smirk appeared on her face. "By the way, being there for the Kobayashi Maru reminded me that I have another very important question for you: are you and the commander still an item?"

"Do you want me to lend you my book or not?"

"Don't be so touchy – I'm just curious! We're friends and I feel like we should discuss these sorts of things with each other. It's merely a suggestion."

"You don't seem interested in discussing your relationship. However, for your information, Commander Spock and I are still together."

"Hey, if you want to know anything about Ryan, you are perfectly welcome to ask." Her face pinched up a little bit. "I still can't imagine dating a Vulcan, though. I mean, I don't have anything against him but…"

"But?" she asked tersely.

Since Nyota was beginning to get tense, Charlie decided to drop the subject. "Never mind."

The two friends arrived at Lt. Uhura's room and opened the door. Inside, they found Uhura's roommate with a man, which wouldn't have been so startling had it not been Ryan – Charlie's boyfriend.

"Ryan, what the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

"Charlie? What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing on top of Gaila? Put your damn pants on!" Her body was shaking, but she was trying to control herself. It wouldn't do to just fly off the handle in Nyota's room.

"You too, Gaila," Uhura demanded, pulling the Orion girl out of the room to give Charlie and Ryan some privacy.

"Why?" Charlie demanded. Ryan began to sputter and turn even more red than he already was, but Charlie quickly put an end to it. "I have the right to know. Why, after four years together, did you decide to cheat on me. With her of all people! You realize that she has slept with half of the academy!"

"Leave Gaila out of this, Charlie." Despite the imminent destruction of their relationship, his face was stone hard, uncaring. "Our relationship has problems which you simply refuse to acknowledge."

"What problems. We've happily been together four years and I assumed that our relationship was going to turn into…" she waited for him to finish her thought, as he so often did.

"Turn into what? Marriage? Charlie, you're a medical officer in star fleet and we both know what that means."

"No we don't. You're in star fleet, too."

"I'm a JAG and probably will never be assigned off planet. As a medical officer, you will probably be off planet fairly often."

"I had assumed that we would work through that. It's not uncommon anymore."

"Look, Charlie, I care about you a lot but you can't give me what I want. I want someone who's going to always be there for me. Beyond that, I'm bored. You used to keep me on my toes and everything was an exciting adventure and now all you have time for is your exams."

"I'm not exciting enough for you? What would you suggest? That I quite star fleet and opt for a career in chainsaw juggling?" Acidic sarcasm dripped off her lips like venom.

"Gaila's entering the annual student boxing tournament. You probably haven't heard of it since you've never broken a rule in your life, but it's held every year and kept secret from the staff." He handed her an invitation which he had received. "Look, Charlie, it's been great, but we just aren't going to work anymore. I guess that now is as good a time as ever for a clean break." His face was still as hard and cold as it had been throughout the entire conversation when he left her in the room alone.

Charlie stared at the boxing tournament invitation that was crumpled in her hands. Fine. If Ryan wanted her to be more exciting, then she could be more exciting.

**McCoy's P.O.V.**

"Jim, I don't know if this is such a good idea. This entire thing has to violate at least thirty academy rules and if we get caught here, I'm not sure what they're going to do with us."

"Relax, Bones, have a beer. And, be prepared to make bets on the fighters. What could be better than watching a bunch of half-naked women beat the shit out of each other?"

After they had both had a beer, McCoy's nerves began to calm themselves, and Jim Kirk placed his bet on the Orion girl named Gaila. As the tournament wore on, it began to become clear that Kirk's bet was a good one. The Orion girl had not been beaten by one opponent yet and there was only one girl left.

"Charlie Jacobs, let's see if you can break Gaila's streak," came the voice of the announcer.

At this, one of the women near Kirk and McCoy knocked back a shot and went up onto the platform, putting on a pair of gloves as she went. McCoy wasn't sure why, but once she took her stance, a look of absolute terror crossed the face of Gaila. However, it was too late to back out because the bell had rung, signaling the beginning of the fight and the new opponent showed no mercy. She landed blow after blow on the Orion girl and McCoy could not believe the power behind each and every one of the punches. Gaila hadn't gotten on punch in before she was down for the count, and she stayed down.

"Ladies and gentleman, it appears we have a new champion: Charlie Jacobs. Now, if anyone would like to challenge her, then they are free to come forward."As another girl put her boxing gloves on, the new champion downed an entire beer in less than thirty seconds.

The rest of the evening went on in a similar fashion, with Charlie winning time and again. Each time, she would drink another beer and McCoy was beginning to get worried. That much alcohol couldn't be good for anyone, especially not someone who was as short as she was. However, he decided to let loose for the night and ignore the doctor in him that wanted to tell her to stop with the beer. He even began placing bets on her.

**Charlie's P.O.V.**

The shirt she had originally been wearing had been soaked through with sweat from the fights, so she opted to take the shirt off and fight only in her sports bra and shorts. She hadn't expected for things to go this far. All she had wanted was to beat the shit out of Gaila and prove to Ryan that he had made the wrong decision. Although her vision was spinning, she noticed him staring at her in the audience. From there, she decided 'to hell with it!'. She was already in an underground boxing tournament which went against school policy, absolutely wasted, and half naked in front of a crowd. So, to top things off she decided to make Ryan jealous by making out with the nearest guy. At first, she didn't know who it was, because she had just grabbed the guy nearest to her. However, she only noticed after she had kissed him that it was none other than Leonard McCoy, who she shared the majority of her classes with.

She began to stutter a few slurred apologies, except she noticed a very familiar face across the room and he locked eyes with her. It was Commander Spock, there to shut down the tournament. The entire room went into chaos as soon as they noticed the commander as he was not known for being merciful when it came to rule-breaking. Her only hope was the drunkenly stumble out of the room without being caught by one of the many men he had brought with him.

She slipped out a back door, but before she could go anywhere, she found a garbage can to vomit in, silently cursing herself for drinking so much.

After vomiting, she was about to slip away before being grabbed on the should by none other than Commander Spock himself. "Cadet Jacobs, are you aware that you have just been apprehended at an establishment that is in violation of no less than thirty-three academy rules and regulations?"

"Yes, sir," she replied. Although, in truth, she was having a little trouble hearing due to how drunk she was.

"You realize then that I have no choice but to – "

"Could you please hold that thought, Commander?" she asked as Ryan slipped out the same door she had.

"Charlie, you have no idea how badass that was," he began before he noticed Commander Spock. However, before he could comment any further, she punched him so hard that he was knocked out.

"Cadet, you have just added yet another violation to the long list of charges already brought against you."

"Yes, sir." I should have just done that last week when he broke up with me, she groaned internally, as Spock hauled her away. On a positive note, though, there were a lot of other Cadets who had seen her deck Ryan. She hoped that they would tell all of their friends.

* * *

The next morning, she endured embarrassment after embarrassment as Spock presented his case against her. This evidence included a video of her, half-naked, drinking beer and planting one on Dr. McCoy.

"Please, Commander," she interjected, feeling nothing but chagrin for her behavior the night before. "Has this not been embarrassment enough? I accept whatever punishment you deem fit, but please end this," she begged. She could see McCoy turning bright red in the audience and his friend Jim Kirk trying not to go into hysterical fits of laughter.

"I still have three more exhibits to submit as evidence, Cadet Jacobs," the commander informed her.

"I think that is enough, Commander Spock. I believe we all get the picture of what occurred last night. And, as Cadet Jacobs is the last student we are taking care of, I'm sure everyone would like to hurry this along. This tribunal has only a few more questions. You are familiar with the Cadet's academic history?" asked the head of the Tribunal.

"Yes, sir," Spock replied.

"What is your assessment?"

"Cadet Jacobs had a spotless record until last night and the entire incident seems entirely uncharacteristic. Her academic record as a star fleet medical officer is equally impressive. It is due to her previously untarnished record that I do not recommend she be expelled. What concerns me most is her assault on a fellow officer in my presence. I hope she will explain this."

"As all in this room are now aware," she began painfully. "I was very intoxicated the night of the incident. I scarcely remember punching my fellow Cadet, nevertheless my motives for it." It was a lie, and she could see out of the corner of her eye that Spock didn't believe a word of it.

"I think we have all we need, Cadet Jacobs," said the head of the Tribunal. "We rule that you will not be expelled but instead be confined to quarters for a week. I trust that this is satisfactory for everyone?" At this, he turned to Spock.

"Yes, sir," the Vulcan replied.

As Charlie headed to her quarters, she was intercepted briefly by Uhura. "What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking. I believe that that was the stupidest thing I have done in my entire life, and probably the most stupid thing ever done on campus."

"I'm sorry," Uhura said. "I shouldn't have left you alone. I should have talked to you." She stared down at her feet a moment. "I'm also sorry about Spock. I know he can be a little harsh."

"He was just doing his job, and this entire mess is my own damn fault for going after Gaila and Ryan. Oh, and do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"The commander suspects that I'm lying about why I punched Ryan. Please don't share any details with him. The last thing I need is for the entire campus to know that my wild night was due to a pathetic breakdown after he dumped me."

"That is very enlightening, Cadet." There was no mistaking that voice.

"He's behind me, isn't he?" Charlie asked and Uhura nodded.

"I am here to escort you to your quarters where you are to remain for an entire week while you are not in class."

"Yes, Commander," she sighed as she resigned herself to the fact that she had effectively destroyed her entire reputation in one night.

**A/N: Just let me know what you think, I guess.**


	2. Chapter 2

A month had passed since the incident, and most aspects of Charlie's life had returned to normal. There were still occasions when other cadets on campus would snicker at her, but it was better than the outright fits of laughter that used to follow her around every corner. Today, her main concern was the fact that she had to be in the same room with Kirk while he took the Kobayashi Maru for the third time, which undoubtedly meant that he was insane. However, her larger concern than Kirk's mental health was the fact that he was friends with Leonard McCoy and, more than anyone on campus, enjoyed torturing them both about the incident. She could only begin to imagine the types of stunts he would pull if they were in the same room together. If there was one thing she agreed with Uhura on, it was that Kirk was an ass.

Nyota, if at all possible, was even more upset about being assigned to take the test with Kirk. "I cannot believe I have to do this again! He's going to insist that everyone calls him captain, and I guarantee he is going to fail."

"While I agree with you, there is nothing we can do about it now and it is way too early to be yelling. Save your rant until after the test. After all, you'll have more to rant about then, anyway." Charlie had forgotten to program the coffee pot for the earlier wake up call. Coffee would just have to wait until after Kirk's exam.

Once they arrived, everyone was milling about and beginning to sit in their assigned seats. Just as Charlie was beginning to get comfortable, Kirk arrived with McCoy. "Isn't it a lovely morning, Bones? I am so happy that you were able to come!" Kirk had an apple in his hand and he definitely looked as if he had caffeine in his system. "Oh, and would you look at that! It appears that you have been assigned a seat next to your favorite fellow medical officer. I wonder who could have arranged that." Charlie assumed, due to the devilish gleam in his eyes, that Kirk had something to do with it. "I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do, Bones, but do me a favor and try to keep things PG. I need all of my officers with their heads in the game." He then smirked as he took a bite out of his apple.

Charlie felt her body go warm as McCoy awkwardly sat down next to her and the test began with the Kobayashi Maru requesting help. All of Nyota's responses to the orders of the 'captain' were sarcastic and angry.

Despite the embarrassment that 'the incident' – as it had been labeled by Charlie – brought on her, she felt twice as bad for McCoy because she had thrown him under the bus, too. Plus, he had to be around Kirk a lot more than she did, which must have been completely insufferable. She decided that she had to apologize to him because it was simply the decent thing to do. Now would probably be the only time she would be able to talk to him just out of Kirk's earshot.

"I've spotted Klingons, captain, what should we do?" she asked monotonously.

"Absolutely nothing," he replied, as he took another large bite out of his apple and chewed noisily.

"Are you crazy?" asked McCoy.

"He's taking this test for a third time, isn't he?" Charlie whispered, only just loud enough so that McCoy could hear. She cleared her throat quietly. "Um, McCoy, I'm very sorry about the night at the boxing tournament. I realize that I put you in an incredibly difficult situation, not only with the academy but also with the torment from Kirk and others on campus. Once again, I'm sorry and I hope you understand that it was entirely out of character for me. Please accept my apology," she begged. She had whispered this all very fast, not only to get it over with, but also because she didn't want Kirk to notice that they were talking and give him even more ammunition for teasing.

Before McCoy could answer, all of the systems went down, sending everyone on the 'ship' – with the exception of Kirk – into a wave of confusion. Kirk simply took another nonchalant, noisy bite out of his apple. Then, just as suddenly as the systems went down, they rebooted themselves.

"Fire photons at the Klingons," Kirk ordered.

"But sir the shields are still up," began McCoy.

"Are they?" the blonde asked mischievously.

"No, they're not." At this McCoy's eyebrows knit together as he stared at the screen, uncomprehending.

"Fire away," said Kirk with a wink towards Charlie. All she returned was a very clear frown.

As she and McCoy fired their photons at the Klingons, he whispered back to her, "I accept your apology." She had expected his reply to be terse or forced but it was undeniably genuine. "I realize that you were not yourself and I think we've both suffered enough for that night. Let's be done with it."

"Thank you," she said as her body relaxed with relief. She then turned her attention back to the matter at hand, only for her face to contort into an expression similar to McCoy's. "Do you understand how Kirk did this?"

"I have no idea."

At this, the man in question stood up, and swaggered towards the commanders that were observing the test. "I have just successfully defeated the Klingon ships with no casualties, and the rescue of the Kobayashi Maru is underway." He took another noisy bite out of the apple, and smirk to himself, clearly pleased with his handiwork. He turned to McCoy and Charlie. "Oh, and how could I forget?" he asked quietly. "I have also just reunited two lovebirds that are clearly destined to be with one another. Isn't that right, Bones? He talks about you all the time, Charlie. He can't get that kiss out of his mind." He was very nearly laughing out loud, now.

"Don't believe a word this moron says," grumbled McCoy.

"I disregard everything that comes out of the mouth of Jim Kirk as a rule. Thank you, once again, Dr. McCoy, but I have other things to do today apart from watching Kirk strut around and cheat on a test." She and Uhura then left for lunch together and Charlie desperately hoped that this lunch would include coffee.

* * *

"I can't believe that Kirk would cheat on a test like that!"

"Why not? It's clearly in character. Besides, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Your boyfriend is probably filing a report on him as we speak. He is the one who programs the test, is he not?"

"That's true. We were planning on meeting later on, but he'll probably be delayed now."

"Negative, Lieutenant. I am here as planned, but I am curious as to why Cadet Jacobs is here, also. I had wrongly assumed that we were to meet in private." Spock had appeared out of nowhere to join their conversation once again. Damn, thought Charlie, this Vulcan was truly a master at filling out forms. She had seen the types of reports that he would have to file on Kirk and those sheets would have taken a normal person at least an hour to fill out. She could only assume that Spock had filled out all the proper forms so quickly because of a _lot_ of practice. It also occurred to her that he had a knack for turning up without being noticed.

"Spock, Charlie knows about us. There is no reason to be so formal." At this, Spock stared at Uhura in apparent disbelief.

"I thought we had agreed to make attempts to keep our personal relationship private as it is – " the Commander protested.

"Look, Commander Spock, I am not going to tell anyone about you and Nyota and besides, I've known for a while now so it's a little late to be critical. Your secret is safe with me." While Charlie was doing her best to assure him, the Commander did not seem impressed.

"I'm afraid that I cannot trust your judgment due to your most recent personal history, Cadet. I find it unfortunate that Nyota has informed you about our relationship."

"Nyota, I forgot that I have a class in ten minutes that I need to get to." She grabbed her coffee on the way out. She figured she couldn't be written up for insubordination because of the informal setting, and she hated to leave in the middle of a conversation, but at that point she could not take any more criticism from Spock.

"Once again, it seems the Cadet has proven herself to be irresponsible. The fact that she has forgotten about a class is another testament to this, although it is incredibly fortunate that she did not forget completely."

"She doesn't have a class right now, Spock." Nyota looked at the Commander with an exhausted expression, not wanting to have to explain yet another human tendency to Spock.

"Why would she lie about a class?"

"I think she was getting tired of being insulted by you. Charlie would never tell anyone about us and because I trust her more than anyone else."

"I believe your trust is misplaced." She could see that there was no changing his mind.

"You're going to have to ignore her mistake at some point because she is a very competent officer and deserves recognition for that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I forgot that I have a class, too." Uhura then left the room, leaving Spock wondering whether or not she actually had a class or if she was simply leaving because she was angry like her friend.

* * *

The very next day, Charlie found herself in a very familiar room: the one in which she had had her own disciplinary hearing. Except, this time, Kirk was the one being accused by Spock of unscrupulous behavior. There were a lot of eerie similarities between the two hearings, except that Kirks was considerably less embarrassing. At least he didn't have a video tape of himself making out with a fellow cadet. On the other hand, Jim Kirk probably would not have found that situation as embarrassing as Charlie did. However, despite her dislike for Kirk, she felt empathy for him, having been in the same position.

"You of all people ought to understand," insisted Spock. Now _that_ was a low blow, although she doubted that the Vulcan would understand this. She still didn't understand why cadets were forced to watch each other's hearings, but all she knew was that she would have preferred not to witness Kirk's. It painfully reminded her of her own mistakes.

Thankfully and unfortunately – she couldn't quite decide which – a possible disaster on Vulcan demanded the attention of Star Fleet and due to the actual fleet because occupied elsewhere, the cadets would have to man the ships. She and Uhura quickly made their way to the hanger, only to be thoroughly disappointed, as they were both assigned to the Farragut.

Charlie heard a loud and irritated sigh escape from Uhura as she grabbed Charlie and pulled her in a different direction than that leading to the Farragut. "Nyota, where are we going?"

"We are going to get this fixed. You and I both know that we deserve to be aboard a better ship than the Farragut."

Charlie immediately understood what she meant. "Please tell me that you are not dragging me over to Commander Spock, again. I have had enough of him for a while." Right as she said this, they were within earshot of the Vulcan. How was it he was around whenever she least wanted him to be?

"Commander, a word?"

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

Uhura then listed off all of her positive attributes, then went on to list Charlie's. "Has not Charlene Jacobs been described as incredibly sensitive and astute to the needs of patients and describes as a walking encyclopedia of injuries and illnesses?"

"Yes she has?"

"Is she not also second in her entire class only to Dr. McCoy who only above her due to more experience in the field?"

"That is also true."

"Then how is it that two completely competent Star Fleet officers have found themselves aboard the _Farragut_?"

"In your case," Spock lowered his voice. "It was to avoid the appearance of favoritism." He raised his voice once again to a normal volume. "As for Cadet Jacobs, her assignment was due to her recent disciplinary issues. I deemed it best that she not be aboard a ship of any major importance."

"No. We are both assigned to the Enterprise." Charlie had always admired how fiercely Uhura went after something she wanted and was utterly impressed at the way she addressed Spock.

The Vulcan in question paused for a moment, as if thinking it over. "Yes, it appears you both are."

"Thank you," Uhura said as she dragged Charlie with her aboard the Enterprise to change into their uniforms.

As they did so – Uhura slipping into red and Charlie slipping into blue – Charlie smiled at her friend. "Thank you for helping me out. You didn't have to do that, you know. I would not have objected to being aboard the Farragut as punishment. Oh, and if I ever make fun of you for dating Spock again, you both have my permission to punch me."

Uhura beamed at having accomplished two long-term objectives of hers in one fell swoop. "I'll be sure to inform the Commander. Now, we both have to report in. You know where the Medical Bay is, correct?"

"Yes. I check in with Dr. Puri, there. Jacobs, out," she joked, scarcely believing the thrill she felt at being aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, the pride of the fleet.


	3. Chapter 3

The Enterprise was even more fantastic than Charlie could have imagined in even her wildest dreams, and when she arrived at sick bay her heart soared with the type of excitement that could only be brought about by a well-organized lab. She quickly checked in with Dr. Puri before finding one deviant cabinet that was in complete disarray. She stared accusingly at the nurses before setting to work in organizing it. It wasn't until Kirk and McCoy made their entrance that she even looked away from the cabinet. "What the hell?" she whispered, as McCoy brought Kirk over to one of the beds.

She strode over to the center of the commotion, intent to see what type of trouble Kirk was causing now. "What is going on? How did Kirk get on the ship? And what the hell is wrong with him?" Her voice rose at least one octave with each question she asked. She had been there all of five minutes and already Kirk was mucking things up. At least by this point, McCoy had had the good sense to knock him out.

"He's my patient, whom I determined needed medical care, and I simply didn't think it would have been wise to leave him in the care of another physician."

Had Charlie been anything except a doctor, she might have believed him. "Okay, I'm going to call your bullshit right now. You're trying to tell me that in the three minutes between when I last saw Kirk and when you had to load into the shuttle, he began exhibiting symptoms this severe? Please tell me, Doctor, what type of disease on earth hits that quickly?" He began stuttering before she held up her hand to silence him. "I am in enough trouble already and I barely even made it onto this ship. I am not about to let you or Kirk screw this up for me!" she was shout-whispering at him, trying not to draw the attention of the nurses. She did not want to be associated with any madness involving Kirk.

"Look, Jim was really upset when he learned that he was grounded and I couldn't stand looking at his stupid, sad face, so I gave him a vaccine for Melvaran mud fleas," he muttered. "Please don't try to make trouble."

She sighed. As much as she disliked Kirk, as long as he was unconscious for most of the trip, she supposed she could tolerate him, even if he _was _a mouth-breather. "Alright," she sighed. "But I'm only doing this because I don't want any trouble for you. Now we are completely even. This is my thank-you for forgiving me."

"I'm not complaining, but I never expected you to give me anything for not holding a grudge." His eyes wandered over to the cabinet that Charlie had been organizing. "Who let that cabinet get so disorganized?" he asked, face scrunching into what could almost be described as anger.

"I suspect the nurses. There are two really incompetent ones." She let her eyes conspicuously wander to the pair, so as to let McCoy know who they were for future reference. "Want to help me continue organizing?"

"You bet your ass." His intensity about organization in a medical lab was even greater than hers. Charlie knew instantly that they would get along just fine. As they began alphabetizing, now that the cabinet was completely cleared, McCoy cleared his throat to get her attention. "So why did you have trouble getting onto the enterprise? There's no question that you are perfectly qualified. The way you removed the heart from that Andorian cadaver, was almost moving."

She couldn't help but laugh at his comment about the Andorian cadaver. "Well, the Commander didn't seem to think that my academic record outweighed my recent discipline record."

"The Commander? You mean that pointy-eared bastard?" he asked incredulously.

She nodded. "The very same."

"Well, if he didn't want you on the enterprise, then how did you manage to get cleared for the Enterprise?"

"Commander Spock and I have a mutual friend who spoke on my behalf."

"Who?"

"Don't go thinking that I am going to reveal my secret weapon to you. They wish to remain anonymous and I intend to honor that."

He nodded as if he hadn't expected her to give him any information anyway. They were finally beginning to neatly fill the cabinet with the newly alphabetized drugs, when both of them heard a woman shout "Dr. McCoy!"

"Good God," muttered McCoy as he hid behind one of the beds.

Just as he was doing this, Allison, who Charlie knew from classes, bounded over. "Charlie, have you seen Dr. McCoy? I have a bunch of really important questions for him."

Seeing the panicked look on McCoy's face as he violently shook his head, and knowing – as everyone did – that Allison had an enormous crush on McCoy, Charlie quickly created an excuse. "You know, Allison, I think McCoy went with Dr. Puri to deck six."

"Really? Why would they have the two senior medical officers both go to the same place?"

Charlie shrugged innocently. "I have no idea, but that was the last I heard about them."

"Thank you so much, Charlie!" Allison hugged Charlie really tight. "By the way, your hair looks super adorable in that side braid." This was why Charlie hated lying to Allison. Even if she did come on too strong, she was still the nicest human being on the planet, and Charlie's face fell as she bounded away.

As McCoy pulled himself off the floor, Charlie couldn't help but comment "You know, it wouldn't kill you to try and talk with her more. Once she calms down, she's a very pleasant person."

"I'm just waiting for her to calm down," he muttered. It seemed the Doctor was never really in a good mood. "Thank you, again. It looks like I owe you now."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

* * *

Their conversation stayed light for most the remainder of the trip and, although it was inexplicable, in the last couple of days, she felt as if she and McCoy had developed into confidants. Their shared torture at the hands of Jim Kirk, along with all the secrets they helped one another hide had created some sort of strange, but potent bond between them.

They had both set about doing their different tasks for the trip long before the message about their impending arrival at Vulcan, but their peaceful day was soon completely disrupted by none other than James T. Kirk. At first, Charlie was going to stay completely out of it: as far as she was concerned, McCoy could calm down his own deranged friend. However, once she saw how ridiculously swollen his hands were, he became a patient, which meant that he had to become her first priority. Just as she was about to join McCoy in treating Kirk, Kirk ran out of sick bay! As he was doing this, McCoy turned to Charlie and shouted "Grab a medical kit and follow us!"

She quickly obliged and sprinted after McCoy and Kirk, often handing the doctor the necessary medicines before he had even asked for them. As she had suspected earlier, they worked well together. When Kirk finally stopped running around the ship, she was surprised to see that he had been looking for Nyota this entire time. When he began talking about the transmission that Uhura had translated a couple days ago, Charlie almost began to see the way the wheels were turning inside Kirk's head; she wasn't sure that she liked it. The entire party only began running again when Kirk decided that it was his place to tell the captain about whatever conclusion he had drawn from what Nyota had said.

When they finally arrived on the bridge, it was one huge, overbearing shit storm, for lack of a better word. Everyone was yelling at each other until Kirk finally managed to get a couple words in, explaining his theory about some Romulan vessel. Although Charlie had no idea what he was talking about, it was enough to convince Spock, which was more than enough for her, although at this point she was a little dumbfounded that Kirk had been intelligent enough to surmise this much. She had never seen his test scores, but she had always worked under the assumption that he was an idiot. In fact, she had even wondered if he was intelligent enough to work security. Learning that Kirk was actually intelligent – and respected by Captain Pike, no less – shattered her view of the world a little bit.

She and McCoy stared at each other as they prepared to come out of warp. The scene which welcomed them once they did come out of warp was a terrifying one and Charlie felt herself let out a small, unwilling gasp as she saw all the destroyed ships. All she could think about were all the young cadets that had been on those ships and imagining them dead. During her momentary lapse, the ship had hit some of the debris, almost sending her flat on her face, but McCoy steadied her enough to prevent anything that embarrassing.

"Dr. McCoy," she said, taking on the formal business persona she should have taken on once she had realized the gravity of the situation. "We need to get down to sick bay. There are going to be a lot of injuries."

She had heard the beginnings of a plan forming between Pike, Kirk and Spock, but she hadn't assumed it was any of her concern until Pike began looking around the room for people who had advanced combat training. Sulu volunteered, and as Pike continued scanning the room, his eyes fell on Charlie and she saw it on his face: he had very nearly laughed when he saw her. Great, so 'The Incident' was going to follow her even as she entered the beginning of her Star Fleet career. Unfortunately, things got worse. "Dr. Jacobs, how much combat training do you have?"

So he had asked. She supposed he had to, and considering her performance last month, it wasn't a ridiculous question, but it was an embarrassing one. "I have received no extensive formal combat training sir, beyond that which is required by the academy. Even if I had, I believe that my services would be best rendered in sick bay, as I _am_ a medical officer."

Pike nodded and decided to have Kirk go on the mission instead, although Charlie was fairly certain that his combat training was about as extensive as hers. Everyone at the academy received it. Despite how grave the situation was, before Pike's group left the bridge, Pike couldn't help but say "You know, Dr. Jacobs, you should consider investing some time into advanced combat training. If you can do that much damage when you are completely drunk, I'd like to see what you can do with a little more training when you're sober."

She stared hard at him, believing he might be joking to be cruel, but she saw nothing but sincerity on his face and her own face changed to a look of confusion. She was also a little mortified that the same man who had taken an interest in Kirk – recruiting a delinquent in the process – would take an interest in her. However, she had no time to ponder the matter any further, as she and McCoy had a disaster to take care of in Sick Bay. As they arrived there and surveyed the disaster, they looked at each other, understood what had to be done, and set to work.

Patients began flooding in and although it was morbid, Charlie and McCoy were both in their element, handing each issue with startling efficiency as it occurred, surprising even themselves. As Spock kindly reminded them, they were first and second in command now. For some reason, it felt natural and right.


End file.
